One of my favourite things here in Vietnam is driving my motorbike around.  I can’t explain exactly what it is but it is addictive.  You always have to be alert, looking for the unexpected, I find it is like a game where you have to pick the path of least resistance. So Oscar (motorbike) and I decided to saddle up and explore some of the Me Kong.  A friend of mine, Nam, was going in the same direction so he offered to ride with me to my first stop, Can Tho.  We left HCMC at about 1:3o pm on Friday.  We stopped in Mỷ Tho for a refreshment and this was our halfway point.  We then crossed a number of massive bridges and one built with Australia.

We made it safely to Can Tho and had pancakes for dinner (famous in the Me Kong).  You take pieces of the pancake which has prawns in it and wrap it in the greens and then dip it in the sauce, delicious!

We then went to a friend of Nam’s, Thê Anh where we were staying to unpack and freshen up.  Then it was off to the city centre which was amazing with the lights and a new walkway and a couple of beers.   I then had a tour of Can Tho and saw the night street food markets and Can Tho University.  The next day was an early start to look at the floating markets, the biggest in the Mekong.  I had three tour guides; Bich, Thê Anh and Nam.  People come from all over the area in their boats to buy produce and take back home and then sell themselves.  It is like the Rocklea markets in Brisbane but on the water.

From there we went to Thiên Viện Truc Lâm Phương Nam Pagoda.  It was opened about 2 years ago and is the biggest in the Mekong.  On the inside of the bell, people post their wishes.

From there we went to a fruit garden and relaxed.  By that time it was time for lunch and for me to get on the road to my next destination, Ha Tien.  I had an awesome lunch of fish in rice paper rolls.

I was not entirely on my own, I had Google Maps and a holder on my motorbike so I could navigate on the run.  So of course, within the first 15 mins I took a wrong turn, however, it was the only one of the whole trip!  It was a beautiful drive and I made it to Ha Tien on dusk.  I checked into my hotel and then went for dinner and the night markets.  I had seafood for dinner and I ordered some squid, however when it arrived this is what it was, yep fish.

It was all good.  I then wondered around and listened to the entertainment that was on offer, from what I could understand (probably not much after my dinner order) it was a local night were anyone could sing, it wasn’t Karaoke as there were no words and there was live music.  At one point, I think more people were looking at me than the stage.

The next day I had a couple of sights to see in the area around Ha Tien, the beach, Mui Nai beach and a pagoda at Da Dung Mountain.  I had prawns for breakfast and enjoyed the view and breeze.

The scenery around the pagoda was magnificent and this is what I have always pictured Vietnam to be like.   

The Pagoda, was on and in a mountain and you walked halfway up the mountain and then around it. There were caves where there were statues of Buddhas and alters and in other caves there were lights and pathways.  I ended up going into one of the caves and I thought it was the path.  The access was very hard and myself and a couple ended up helping each other to get out of the cave.  We then continued together and I had a drink with them afterwards.  Mui Mui is a teacher and her friend transports seafood.

This was one of my favourite places from the trip and I would love to come back here again sometime.  From here it was off to Chau Doc and this route would take me parallel with Cambodia.  It was rice harvesting season, normally 2-3 times a year so there was lots of activity on the road, they dry their rice on the road.  All the moving of the bags are done by hand so it is hot and heavy work. They use the canals to transport the rice from the fields to a central location.

I arrived in Chau Doc and found myself at another Pagoda and again with great views.  I think I was more of an attraction than the Pagoda as I had my photo taken a lot.  I decided I would do the same.  How cool is the surfing Buddha!

To the left is where I had driven from today and to the right is Cambodia, can’t you tell?

I found my hotel and had a good dinner and early night.

The next day I was off to Tra Su, a forest in the canels.  There was a bit of off road driving which was great.  I spent an hour on the water between two boats, one  a motorboat and the second a row boat.  It was magnificent, green, birds, quiet, reflections and views.

What about this scenery, it was amazing.

From here I made my way to Cam Mountain, another pagoda with a very big Buddha.  On the way I stopped for lunch and the restaurant had a puppy.  For 30 mins the puppy played with my feet, it was entertaining for the guests as well as the puppy.  Where at home can you eat your meal and play with a puppy at the same time?   Note, I didn’t touch the puppy with my hands.

Cam Mountain was the highlight of my trip, see if you can figure out why…  I arrived at the bottom of the mountain at the sign and I was surrounded by motorbikes within seconds.

Over the next 30 mins, using a mixture of head shakes, hand signals and google translate I worked out that only locals can take the road used by cars to the top and that I will have to go up with a driver on another path as the road is too dangerous. I am thinking, how dangerous can it be?  So after bartering and parking my bike I jumped onto the back of the motorbike and off we went.  It all started off very easy and then after some weird instructions from the driver, he was sitting at the very front of the seat and I was right behind him, I mean right behind him,  I soon realised why.  It was steep and narrow!

It was a wild ride and I loved every minute of it.  Because it was so narrow in places and lots of blind corners, the horn was vital and it took about 30 mins to get up.  This is what was waiting for me.

PS, that is not a double chin, I was trying to look like the Buddha, great facial muscle control on my behalf.

A famous dish in this area is Dien Dien Flowers, the yellow ones.

We then went up to the very top and got this wicked view.

The way down was great, less daunting.  After that the open road was a little quiet and I proceeded to Hong Ngu.  

I did a little bit of exploring in the city and look what I found, mice, these are for eating.

After that discovery I had seafood for dinner and then a well deserved sleep after all the excitement.

This was my last day on the road, Hong Ngu to home via the province Dong Thap and I visited another forest, Tram Chim, by the rivers.  Because I was by myself it was too expensive to hire a boat so I rented a bicycle and looked around.

From there it was home.  These are some of the cool things I saw along the way, drying fish (I call it Fish Jerky) and tiny hay bails.

 

I stopped for lunch and I got engrossed in a soap opera along with the staff.  I got to Tan An and was following the signs to HCM and arrived at a Toll Booth and something wasn’t quite right, there were no motorbikes.  This doesn’t happen in Vietnam.  So I contacted Nam and sent him a screen shot of where I was and asked “Can motorbikes go on the motorway?” His reply was “NO, you can’t do it”.  Apparently there are some road rules that are obeyed.  I made it back to HCM to be welcomed by rain, the only time on the whole trip.

Map:

The route that I took in an clockwise direction.

Petrol:

Filled up 6 times for a total cost of 230,000 VND ($13.50 AUD). With a 3.7 L size petrol tank, I used approximately 16.8 L.  Pretty good if you ask me.

Distance:

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh to Can Tho: 178 km

Day 2: Can Tho to Ha Tien: 211 km

Day 3: Ha Tien to Chau Doc: 150 km

Day 4: Chau Doc to Hong Ngu : 111 km

Day 5: Hong Ngu to Ho Chi Minh: 181 km

Total distance travelled: 831 km

The average speed is about 50 km/hr.

Highlights:

Best company: My tour guides, Nam, Thế Anh and Bích in Can Tho

Number of foreigners spotted: 4, not including me, I can’t spot myself, or can I?

Confusion created by language barrier: 2.  Harm done: 0

Missed the most: chocolate, I hunted high and low and couldn’t find any.  Massive learning curve for me!  I should probably have said Niels here right?

Rain: only when I got back to Ho Chi Minh

Number of times I had my photo taken: 5

Weirdest thing I saw: mice being sold at the markets

Best experience: Motorbike ride up Cam Mountain

Best scenery: Tra Su

Most surprised me: The Me Kong is like one big city, I thought that there would be gaps of civilization where there would be just farm land but almost along the entire journey there were houses and people along the road.

A BIG Thank You: Nam for helping me prepare my itinerary, my guide from HCMC to Can Tho, fitting by mobile phone to my bike and advising that I can’t ride on the motorway:).  Also for introducing me to your friends.